WASHINGTON – Former Vice President Walter Mondale will deliver remarks July 17 at a reception honoring five Minnesota lawyers who have been awarded the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Pro Bono Service Award in recognition of their extraordinary commitment to equal justice. The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Dorsey & Whitney LLP in Minneapolis (50 South 6th Street).

The reception will be held in conjunction with the LSC Board of Directors’ quarterly meeting.

In addition to Mondale, speakers at the event include Ken Cutler, Managing Partner of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, and Michael Unger, President of the Minnesota State Bar Association.

Recipients of the Pro Bono Service Award are:

Frank Bibeau, a tribal attorney who has volunteered with Anishinabe Legal Services for ten years. He has donated hundreds of hours of pro bono legal service, advocating for Tribal members’ rights.

Steven Kirsch, a shareholder with Briggs and Morgan, P.A., who has served as the chair of the Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services Campaign for Legal Aid for 21 years.

Larry McDowell, a private attorney with Wurst & McDowell Limited, who has volunteered for Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota since its doors opened in 1976. He has contributed thousands of pro bono hours working on hundreds of family law cases.

Tom Kramer, a private attorney with Kramer Law Office in west central Minnesota, who has done pro bono work with Central Minnesota Legal Services for more than 20 years. He has donated more than 1,000 pro bono hours to assisting low-income clients.

Nora Sandstad, an assistant county attorney in St. Louis, who has spent five years providing pro bono legal assistance on a variety of family law cases at Legal Aid of Northeastern Minnesota. In 2013, she donated 300 hours of pro bono service.

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. The Corporation currently provides funding to 134 independent non-profit legal aid programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.